TY  - JOUR
AU  - Baker,Michael
AU  - Fortin,Nicole M.
TI  - Occupational Gender Composition and Wages in Canada:  1987-1988
JF  - National Bureau of Economic Research Working Paper Series
VL  - No. 7371
PY  - 1999
Y2  - September 1999
UR  - http://www.nber.org/papers/w7371
L1  - http://www.nber.org/papers/w7371.pdf
N1  - Author contact info:
Michael Baker
Department of Economics
University of Toronto
150 St. George Street
Toronto, ON M5S 3G7
CANADA
Tel: 416/978-4138
Fax: 416/978-6713
E-Mail: baker@chass.utoronto.ca

Nicole Fortin
Department of Economics
University of British Columbia
#997-1873 East Mall
Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z1
Canada
Tel: (604) 822-3222
Fax: (604) 822-5915
E-Mail: nifortin@interchange.ubc.ca
AB  - The relationship between occupational gender composition and wages is the basis of pay equity/comparable worth legislation. A number of previous studies have examined this relationship in US data, identifying some of the determinants of low wages in ``female jobs'' well as important limitations of public policy in this area. There is little evidence, however, from other jurisdictions. This omission is particularly disturbing in the case of Canada, which now has some of the most extensive pay equity legislation in the world.  In this paper we provide a comprehensive picture, circa the late 1980's, of the occupational gender segregation in Canada and its consequences for wages.   The sample period precedes many provincial pay equity initiatives and thus the results should provide a baseline for the evaluation of this legislation.  We find that the estimated wage penalties in female jobs in Canada are generally much smaller than the estimates for the United States.  Although there is some heterogeneity across worker groups on average, the link between female wages and gender composition is small and not statistically significant.
ER  -